Build the buy-in your idea deserves.
If someone asked you right now, "What's your idea and why should I care about it?"
Could you explain it in under a minute? In a single sentence? Would your answer be clear, concise, and compelling enough that they'd immediately want to know more?
If you answered "no," that's okay. In fact, most people struggle to communicate their ideas in a way that gets the buy-in they want and need. More often than not, there's a big gap between what you say (or write!) about your idea and what other people need to know about it in order to take action.
So, how do you bridge that gap?
You tell them the story they'd tell themselves about your idea, the Red Thread that connects what you do with what your audience already cares about. Stories are how people make sense of the world, not to mention any new idea they hear. But the stories that work for someone, that drive them to action, are built on elements they already want and believe.
When you can build a story like that for your idea, you'll build buy-in for your ideas from the beginning, and accelerate the impact your ideas deserve.
Thankfully that kind of core story has a universal structure, which makes it simple to find and build your own Red Thread. To help you do that, I've designed the only online course that shows you how to design your own message, and build your own core story, all with the simple 6-step Red Thread method.
Clarify Your Idea - Create Change - Get Results
The Red Thread Online Course Is For You If:
- You have an idea that you believe could change lives, change markets, or even change the world.
- You struggle to communicate that idea in a way that inspires people to take action.
- You want your idea to make sense instantly to the right people and be easy for them to share it with others.
- You want to be able to easily adapt how you talk about your idea for different audiences and applications—whether you have a minute or hours.
- You want your idea to inspire real and lasting change in your audience or customers.
This Course Will Help You:
- Clarify your core message and materials so you can reach new and bigger audiences that understand how you can help them differentiate your idea, defensibly.
- Develop marketing platforms and materials that resonate with the audiences most right for you.
- Structure strategic sales conversations to get the outcome you want (or figure out quickly if it’s worth your time at all).
- Outline books and online content.
- Create or improve investor pitches.
- Get buy-in with internal pitches and presentations.
- Create public speaking presentations, such as keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops.
- Design fundraising asks.
- Increase your fees and prices you charge by articulating not just what you do and why, but why you do it in that particular way (and why that’s better).
Winston Churchill
"We must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough."
Who This Course Is For
- Leaders building cases for change
- Marketing, advertising, and sales leaders and writers
- Non-profit leaders and advancement officers
- Coaches and consultants
- Startup founders
- Solopreneurs
- Entrepreneurs
- Scientists, researchers, and academics
- Authors
- Speakers
Ready to get started?
What's Included
The Red Thread method is broken down into 3 phases:
Context, Components, and Combinations.
We've built this entirely self-paced, on-demand course in the Kajabi learning platform, which means that all videos, materials, and other resources will be available through the account you will establish when you sign up and you'll have access to that for the lifetime of the course.
Phase 1: Context
In this phase, you will focus on clarifying your message by:
- Filling out the What’s Your Idea Worksheet—a short “mad-libs”-style worksheet that helps you articulate your idea quickly and easily.
- Choosing your FIRST use case from our Red Thread Application Menu.
- Defining the outcome for your message, for both you and your audience.
- Use one of the 3 simple strategies to choose your audience.
Phase 2: Components
In this phase, you will build your Red Thread, one component at a time.
Component #1 The Goal Statement
What You’ll Learn
- What is the Goal Statement?
- Goal Statement Criteria.
- Goal Statement Format.
- Why start with the Goal Statement?
- How to build the Goal Statement.
- 5 reasons to save your work.
What You’ll Do
- Make a list of questions your chosen audience is asking right now.
- Choose the question that best serves your needs and your audience’s and turn it into a goal statement.
- Brainstorm your audience's wants, values, and struggles and put them together into an audience statement.
Component #2 The Problem Statement
What You’ll Learn
- What is the Problem Statement?
- Problem Statement Format.
- Problem Statement Criteria.
- Why You Need The Problem Statement.
- How To Find the ”Duck Bunny.”
- How To Build Your Problem Statement.
- What To Do If You Get Stuck.
- Fast And Full Versions.
What You’ll Do
- Describe your audience's current view of the barrier they see as getting in the way of their goal.
- Describe your contrasting view of those same barriers.
- Find the Duck-Bunny and turn it into a 2-part problem statement.
- Create a fast and full version of your problem statement
- Name the problem.
Component #3 The Truth
What You’ll Learn
- What is the Truth Statement?
- Truth Statement Criteria.
- The Truth Statement Format.
- 5 Ways To Build The Truth Statement.
What You’ll Do
- Find the single, core concept that explains both the problem and the answer your idea represents.
- Turn that core concept into a proverb-like statement.
- Use the 5 Whys, Message Math, Pre-existing Proverbs, Science, or your own Published Research to represent your idea.
Component #4 The Change
What You’ll Learn
- What is the Change Statement?
- Change Statement Criteria.
- Change Statement Format.
- Why your Red Thread needs a Change Statement.
- 3 ways to build the Change Statement.
What You’ll Do
- Summarize the simple, single shift in thinking or behavior that will help your audience achieve their goal.
- Revisit your original answer to “What is your idea?”.
- Use message math to find the change by uncovering your actions first.
Component #5 The Actions
What You'll Learn
- What are Actions?
- The Actions Criteria.
- The Actions Format.
- How To Build Your Actions.
What You'll Do
- Brainstorm options for the 4 action types.
- Narrow your action set to 1 - 5 options for each action type.
- Name it and make it memorable.
- Determine which action type works best for your application.
Component #6 The Goal Revisited
What You'll Learn
- What is The Goal Revisited?
- The Goal Revisited Format.
- The Goal Revisited Criteria.
- 4 reasons to include The Goal Revisited in your Red Thread.
- How to build The Goal Revisited for your Red Thread.
What You'll Do
- Build your Goal Revisited Statement by summarizing what your audience would gain in addition to their goal as a result of making the change.
Phase 3: Combinations
In this phase, you will use our two templates to string the components of your red thread into a storyline and a throughline.
The Red Thread Storyline is a one-paragraph template that helps you create the shortest, most succinct version of your idea that you can use either to explain your idea or to pitch your idea—all in a minute or less
The Red Thread Throughline in the one-sentence summary of your idea that you can use to answer the question “What’s your idea?” in a single sentence and in 140 characters or fewer.
Bonus Material
8 real-world case studies so that you can see the Red Thread method in action.
Throughout the course, we will build on 8 case studies of companies and individuals who have used the Red Thread method to tell and sell the story of their ideas.
Our case studies feature:
- A life science startup with the goal of improving its investor pitch.
- An ethnologist who wanted her talk to be featured on www.ted.com.
- A non-profit media company that needed executive buy-in and financial buy-in for a new initiative.
- An author, speaker, and coach who wanted to use this process to outline her keynote and book.
- A coach who wanted to diversify her message to reach a new audience.
- A speaker and author who wanted to revise her keynote so that she could charge more and speak on bigger stages.
- A strategist, author, and speaker who wanted to differentiate his message and stand out in an overly saturated marketplace.
INVESTMENT
Enrollment for this course $1,750.
When you sign up for the course, you'll also have the opportunity to sign up for video feedback on your message design work at the culmination of the course, or add on a two-hour live feedback engagement for an additional investment.
The course is entirely self-paced, there is no time limit to complete, and you'll have access to all course materials and videos for the lifetime of the course.
Agatha Christie
“Words are only the outer clothing of ideas.”
Enrollment is now open!
Getting started on building buy-in for your idea starts with building a message that builds buy-in. While that can feel daunting, I've designed this course to not only to make it as simple and straightforward as possible, but also to teach you message design fundamentals that you'll be able to use time and time again.
Questions? Email us, and we'll be happy to answer them!
PRAISE FOR TAMSEN
I expected to gain clarity in my messaging and how the message should be delivered. I got more than I imagined possible from the process. I got an entire new understanding of my own material and how to present it to ANYONE.
Brant Menswar - Speaker, Author, Performance Coach
I was concerned that I would not receive the value and answers to my long time struggle with my messaging . Not only did Tamsen quickly meet my expectations, but she changed my entire outlook to my business for the better. I've never been more excited to accelerate in the fast lane!
Deborah Gardner - Author and Keynote Speaker
Tamsen's Red Thread method not only helps you crystalize and communicate your big idea - it helps you uncover your even bigger ideas.
Abby Adair Reinhard - Entrepreneur
I went into the experience really not knowing what my idea was or whether I even had an idea...but I left the experience feeling like I do a have an idea that I can build a body of work around, and now my job is to begin building that body of work.
Brenda Barbosa - Journalist, Speech Writer, Copy Writer
I had a professional identity crisis where I couldn't advance at the rate that I wanted to advance until I knew what the heck it was I was doing. After working with Tamsen, I feel like my identity crisis is gone. I came away knowing exactly who I am as a professional. We took all of the pieces of what I do, combined them together, and distilled out the parts that made the most sense and put them in an order that would not just placate me and my need for an identity, but actually help people understand what I do.
Jason Seib - Coach, Speaker, Author
I feel very confident and have a much clearer understanding of my own message- where it came from, why it's relevant, how I can deliver it so I can get 1,000 yes's and what my call to action is.
Tara Whitney - Author, Speaker, and Coach